Since moving back to a coastal town I take daily walks along its rugged and windswept shores. As rejuvenating as this is, it is often partnered with an impromptu beach clean resulting in walking home with a pocketful of washed up plastic. I struggle leaving these discarded fragments on the beach and so this spontaneous litter pickings had me reflecting on what we as humans deem precious and what we choose to simply discard.
I work in a luxury industry where so much of what I create is coveted and of high value. But the things we believe to be necessary for everyday life are often treated as worthless. The most common example of this being single use plastic.
Although the usefulness of plastic is brief, the time that it remains on this earth is not. We have so much of it, yet all we desire gold. If we could turn plastic into gold – would we be careless with that then?
My ‘Fragments’ collection was inspired by this idea and from this I have created a ring collection that uses the beach plastic I gathered from my walks and then cast it directly into gold. Some pieces feature raw diamonds which themselves were collected by artisanal divers off the coast of South Africa. By conjouring a readily discarded material into a material of great natural beauty I hope we can think about what nature gives to us and what we can offer in return.
I used Fairmined gold for this collection to again emphasis the need for respecting the treasures of Mother Earth. I first began using Fairmined gold in 2011 and so becoming part of a global network that ensures that it is not only the gold that is treated as precious. The artisanal mining communities and the natural environment surrounding the small scale mines is also respected. It shows that working with care and dignity is not only possible but, if done correctly, ensures that all involved can thrive.
The positive impacts of this organisation have been dramatic – raising much needed awareness along with making tremendous tangible impact brings hope that we can, when greed is removed, take care of our natural resources and not be so careless with what we give in return.
I hope that this collection can remind and inspire us to take care of our natural resources and not be so careless with what we do in return. With these rings I hope to illustrate two things that are pulled from the sea. The diamond created by nature and the ring with its texture cast from plastic – a resource created by us.
‘Fragments’ was shortlisted for the ‘Fairmined 100 Challenge – Ground Breaking Innovation’ award 2022
